J is for Jam

All the jam I like isn’t even called jam most of the time. Until I thought about writing this I didn’t even have it straight in my head what the variations in fruit preserves boiled down to (if you’ll pardon the pun).

My favourite is Lemon Curd, which certainly sits alongside the jams in my pantry, but isn’t called a jam. There’s egg involved, which isn’t a normal participant in the preparation of fruit jam.

Aside from spread thick on a nice piece of thick toast or a hot crumpet, I recommend swirling a teaspoon of Lemon Curd into plain yoghurt with some fresh blueberries. The flavours complement each other perfectly.

The other jam of preference would also rate highly with Paddington Bear – Marmalade. Like the Curd, it only uses the juice and the zest, rather than the whole fruit. I love the taste of Marmalade on a nice fresh slice of bread, straight from the loaf or lightly toasted. Also, it works for me swirled into ice cream or added to cookies.

I think what this tells me is that I rate jam with less of the whole fruit higher than the standard fruit jams. I’m not sure what that says about me as a person.

I do know that if I got stranded on a desert island, I’d quite like to have a jar of marmalade amongst my possessions.